First time with sand.... Um have no clue what I'm doing.

[kevymd]

I just bought black sand at petco for my new 10 gallon. I have no idea how to clean this stuff or make a tank with it. So... Crash course in sand? Please and thanks

 

[renthus]

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/washing-and-adding-sand-to-a-tank.116758/

I don't remember if it says this in there, but if you're adding the sand before you add water, set a plate down and pour the water onto that to avoid making a mess. Even if you spend hours washing your sand, it'll still be cloudy for a bit. As long as you have a filter running, it should be clear within a day or so. It doesn't matter in the least whether or not you're cycled, since for this you only care about the physical filtration (the part that catches gunk)

 

[kevymd]

Yea I would love cloudy sand that would be understandable. Mine is floating, catching air pockets, sticking to everything. But not cloudy at all.

 

[goofster]

What grade is the sand?

20-40 gravel vac like normal...

Otherwise you just go over the top and make sure to poke it to prevent build up of deadly gasses when you clean.

 

[kevymd]

I'm trying to set up a new tank. This is sand that hasn't touched water yet. When I tried to wash it, it bubbled and floated on the top of the bucket.

 

[goofster]

I'm trying to set up a new tank. This is sand that hasn't touched water yet. When I tried to wash it, it bubbled and floated on the top of the bucket.

Put it in a pillow case... Put the hose in the inside of the pillow case with you or something else holding the pillow case to gather.. moving the hose around and beating the pillow case.

That's the best way I have found.

 

[kevymd]

Put it in a pillow case... Put the hose in the inside of the pillow case with you or something else holding the pillow case to gather.. moving the hose around and beating the pillow case.

That's the best way I have found.

GENIUS! Thanks I was going to resort to old nylons but I didn't think it would end well.

 

[Lyfeoffishing]

I used 80# of black petco sand in my 55 gal. I only washed half the sand because it was taking so long. When I put in the tank I put the unwashed sand on bottom and the washed sand ontop. Then I added a bowl and slowly filled the tank with water. I didn't have any cloudiness at all.

 

[Junne]

Yea I would love cloudy sand that would be understandable. Mine is floating, catching air pockets, sticking to everything. But not cloudy at all.

I had that happen with a certain brand ( ZooMed ) I believe it was the epoxy coating on it that does that. Don't worry, it will eventually sink but I agree, it was very annoying having it "Stick" to everything!

And even after rinsing my sand for about 1/2 hour, it still made my tank cloudy. The cloudiness went away after a day and then I turned my filter on.

 

[kevymd]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I used a pillow case to wash the sand and then I put it in the tank as best I could. No cloudiness whatsoever. Whole lot of sand left in the pillowcase though. Used the tank water to try to rinse it out. Now I'm just letting it cycle a bit before putting Black Canary in there and maybe some other females for her to chill with.